BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS

The Maccabean Period

165 thru 63 BC

 

         Israel’s independence was both short-lived and disastrous.  The Maccabees* political dynasty assumed the throne and the office of the High Priest. Sadly, their rule was marred by infighting. The Sadducees threw their support behind the Hasmonean rulers as both kings and priests; however, the Pharisees insisted that a true king must be a direct descendant of David and a priest could only be a descendant of Aaron. The founder of the Essenes (the group which preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls for posterity) may have founded the Qumran**community around this time. This was in reaction to the Hasmonean rule. ***

            A number of successive rulers were unpopular; one being Alexander Janneas, who was pelted with various objects by Jews at a festival when he attempted to perform his priestly duties. His response declared his mindset regarding the Jewish people as he slaughtered 6,000 of them. This was one thing that made the country increasingly unstable in all respects. Israelites turned to mercenaries and nations outside their own borders for support. Their instability offered little to no resistance to the Roman Empire, who was rising in power at that time. In 63 BC, Roman general, and political leader Gnaeus Pompey captured Jerusalem. It wasn’t long after that the Jews were once again under the command of a foreign ruler. 

            It was at this time that an Idumean named Antipater was installed by the Romans to rule over the Israelites. Antipater’s son, Herod the Great, followed him as king of the Jews. It was under his rule that Jesus was born. It was also under his rule that all Jewish boys under the age of 2 were killed, in an effort to destroy Jesus. You know the rest of that story, as Herod’s best efforts were thwarted by God.

            Our final posting will touch on the Roman period. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* The Maccabees were also referred to as the Hasmoneans.

** Ascetic sect of Jews who lived in the Judean Desert near the Wadi Qumran, along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea roughly between 150 BC to AD 68. ... Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals.

*** Hasmonean was the family name of the rebel leader and priest, Mattathias, who began to throw off Seleucid rule. Upon his death his sons continued the rebellion and were eventually successful in gaining Jewish autonomy under the Seleucids and then, with the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire, full Jewish independence. Simon (brother of Judah Maccabee and son of Mattathias) was the first Hasmonean ruler of an autonomous state. The Hasmoneans are also called Asmoneans. The name Hasmonean comes from the Hebrew word chashman (“wealthy”). According to Josephus, a priest named Chashman, from the family of Jehoiarib (cf. 1 Chronicles 24:7), was the ancestor of the Hasmoneans. Their history is found in the works of Josephus and the apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees. The Hasmonean dynasty lasted about 80 years from about 140 to 63 BC. [https://www.gotquestions.org/Hasmoneans.html]